I stumbled upon this colander at the World Market in Grand Rapids and fell in love. Pure love. I tend to fall in love with housewares a lot. I stood in the aisle admiring its flawless curvatures, the beautiful copper luster, all perfectly accented by those golden toned handles. I definitely stared at it longer than one should stare at a colander, all the while knowing I did not come into World Market for this, but trying to come up with ways to justify buying it. I definitely needed a new colander. False. Fine… The colander I had was just not the right ratio of height to width like this one. False again. Umm, I could use this for a centerpiece for a housewarming party that I would eventually be asked to help with… Negative. That’s when I realized that it would make a wonderful housewarming gift for my friend to give to his clients and boom, in my basket it went. Now, if I could have only remembered what I came to really buy at World Market.

Instructions:

There are no real instructions here. You simply find items you want to include and you arrange them in the colander. I chose items that all revolve around cooking and the kitchen, but you can use any items you want to; make the gift personal by catering it to the recipient’s taste and style. Play around with the placement of the items, putting the larger items in the back, with smaller items placed on the top. I then added some flowers in a vase just to pretty it up, but you could also do a potted herb plant or fresh cut herbs.

For those of you who are dying to see my garden, here’s a little sneak peek at it. With over 5 acres of land, there is always something growing. Whether that be the hydrangea bushes that seem to be different every year, the succulents that we bring inside during the winter, or the woods that play home to the most beautiful wildflowers, there is always something new to discover. So come take a walk with me through my garden…

“May no gift be too small to give, nor too simple to receive, which is wrapped in thoughtfulness, and tied with love.” L. O. Baird

Over the past year, gift boxes have become more and more luxurious and stylish. Gone are the straw baskets with the generic and mass produced items and in their place are locally curated, thoughtfully designed, and entirely customizable gift boxes. For those of you needing a little inspiration on designing a gift box, I’ve designed one for you to use as a guide for your own creation.

Notes:
Gift boxes are wonderful to make because you can customize each one to the individual that will be receiving it. I find it’s easiest to if you choose a theme for the box that is appropriate for the person receiving the gift. Whether that theme is a color, an occasion (ie: housewarming, wedding, new baby) or interest (ie: coffee, wine), having a theme helps you pick out items and gives your gift a nice cohesive look and feel.

Have fun and think outside the box when it comes to the “box.” Bowls, crates, and many other things can be used as your “box.”

I like to include some type of plant in each gift box. Depending on the person, you could give potted herbs, succulent, a small bouquet, or even an air plant.

Instructions:
1. Lay out everything you want to include in each gift box. It helps you get an idea of what you have. Keep in mind you might not use everything you bought.

2. Place the crinkled paper in the bottom of the box.

3. Start playing around with where items should be placed. Generally, the taller items should go in the back, with smaller items placed on top/last.